Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Kansas
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Kansas Project

Dispersal, reproductive success, and habitat use by translocated lesser prairie-chickens

September 2017 - December 2021

Personnel

Participating Agencies

  • Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism

Lesser prairie-chickens are a species of conservation concern due to declining populations and occupied range. Managers are developing strategies, including translocation, to restore populations. Translocation to restore populations is a possible conservation strategy for this species. Assessing habitat quantity and quality at release locations is necessary to determine the success of the strategy. This research is a collaborative effort among the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Kansas Parks, Wildlife, and Tourism, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and U.S. Forest Service. Initial release sites provide little quality habitat for translocated birds. Thus, long distance movements by translocated birds occur requiring an assessment of the potential for a much large area to support lesser prairie-chickens than previously thought.

Presentations Presentation Date
Berigan, L., C. Aulicky, D. Sullins, D. Haukos, K. Fricke, J. Reitz, L. Rossi, and K. Schultz. 2019. Landscape composition explains high rates of dispersal in translocated lesser prairie-chickens. Annual Meeting of the American Ornithological Society, Anchorage, Alaska. June 2019
Berigan, L., C. Aulicky, D. Sullins, D. Haukos, K. Fricke, J. Reitz, L. Rossi, and K. Schultz. 2019. Conservation implications of lesser prairie-chicken habitat selection on the Cimarron National Grasslands. Kansas Natural Resource Conference, Manhattan, Kansas. January 2019
Berigan, L., C. Aulicky, D. Sullins, D. Haukos, K. Fricke, J. Reitz, L. Rossi, and K. Schultz. 2019. Conservation implications of lesser prairie-chicken habitat selection on the Cimarron National Grasslands. Kansas Natural Resource Conference, Manhattan, Kansas. January 2019
Berigan, L., C. Aulicky, E. Teige, D. Sullins, D. Haukos, K. Fricke, J. Reitz, L. Rossi, and K. Schultz. 2019. Dispersal, habitat use, and eventual settlement of translocated lesser prairie-chickens. 33rd Biennial Meeting of the Prairie Grouse Technical Council, Bartlesville, Oklahoma. October 2019
Berigan, L., D. Haukos, D. Sullins, and K. Fricke. 2018. Lesser prairie-chicken translocation: minimizing dispersal to ensure translocation success. Kansas Natural Resources Conference, Manhattan, Kansas. February 2018
Berigan, L., D. Sullins, D. Haukos, K. Fricke, J. Reitz, L. Rossi, and K. Schultz. 2018. Role of natal habitat preference induction in prairie-grouse translocation success. International Grouse Symposium, Logan, Utah. September 2018
Berigan, L., D. Sullins, D. Haukos, K. Fricke, J. Reitz, L. Rossi, and K. Schultz. 2018. Translocation of lesser prairie-chickens: does lek presence limit dispersal? Annual Meeting of The Wildlife Society, Cleveland, Ohio. October 2018
Theses and Dissertations Publication Date
Berigan, L. 2019. Dispersal, reproductive success, and habitat use by translocated lesser prairie-chickens. Kansas State University. December 2019